Water-level alarm for boilers.



L." BEEBEE.

WATER LEVEL ALARM FOR BOILERS. APPLICATION FILED APR.15. 1910.

1,006,898, v Patented 0013.24, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1'.

Lewis B66566,

' momma COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60-, WASHINGTON, D4 c.

L. BEEBEE.

WATER LEVEL ALARM FOR BOILERS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.15. 1910.

1,006,898, Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0,, WASHINGTON, D. c.

LEWIS BEEBEE, OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN.

WATER-LEVEL ALARM FOR BOILERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

Application filed April 15, 1910. Serial No. 555,654.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS BEEBEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in WVater-Level Alarms for Boilers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to signal devices for giving a warning when abnormal operating conditions exist in or about the apparatus to which such a device is applied, and it relates more particularly to a high and low water alarm for boilers and the like.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify the construction and operation of apparatus of this character so as to be comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, install and keep in repair, thoroughly reliable and efficient in use, and of such design as to be readily applied to ordinary boilers.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an alarm device of novel construction in which a whistle is actuated by steam when the water in the boiler reaches a predetermined high or low level.

A further object is the employment of an electric signal which will be energized at about the same time the whistle is sounded so that the operating condition of the boiler will be revealed at a more or less distant point from the boiler as for instance the engineers oflice.

WVith these objects in view, and others as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention :Figure 1 is an elevation of the alarm device shown applied to a steam boiler. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts of the device external to the boiler. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3, Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is an elevation of a modified form of the device wherein the whistle is electrically actuated instead of being mechanically actuated as is the device shown in Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the present instance, I have elected to illustrate the alarm device as applied to a shell boiler, but it is to be understood that it is not necessarily limited to this type of boiler.

Referring to the drawing A designates a portion of a steam boiler in which the normal water level is shown as 1, and above the water is the steam space 2. Supported on the shell of the boiler and at the top thereof is the alarm device designated generally by B, certain parts of the device being located within the boiler and other parts exterior thereto. This alarm device comprises a standard 3 that is in the form of a pipe which has its lower end extending into the steam space 2 of the boiler through an opening 4, and the lower end of the pipe is open so that steam can pass out through the pipe to the whistle 5. The whistle is of any wellknown structure and includes a valve 6 and an operating lever 7 which lever is adapted to be actuated when the level in the boiler rises or falls to predetermined points. On the lower end of the pipe is fastened a bracket 8, which supports a post 9 on which is hinged at 10 a swinging arm 11 connected at its outer end to a float 12. This post or member 9 has a threaded shank 13 that passes through a slot 14 in the bracket 8, and on this shank are nuts 15 which screw home against the bracket 8 to rigidly hold the float device in position, and by means of the slot 1 1, the post .9 can be shifted toward or from the pipe 3. The floatcarrying arm or lever 11 is operatively connected with the lever 7 of the whistle by connections arranged partly within the pipe 3 and partly outside the same. Extending upwardly through the pipe is a rod 16 that has its lower end screwed into a head 17 which is connected by a pivot 18 with a web 19 on the lever 11, such web having spaced apertures 20 into any one of which the pivot 18 can be engaged. The rod 16 continues upwardly out of the pipe 3'and into a coupling or casing 21 in the top of which is screwed a plug 22 by which the whistle 5 is connected to the steam pipe. The casing 21 has a removable section 23, at one side, in which is disposed a swinging arm or lever 24: that is hingedly connected at 25 with the upper end of the rod 16. This lever is mounted on a horizontal rock shaft 26 journaled in the section 23 of the said casing and this shaft extends through a stalling box 27 and has rigidly secured to its outer end a double arm rocker 28. The outer ends of the rocker arms have openings 29 through which extend rods 30 that have their upper ends connected with the whistle lever 7 by passing loosely through lugs 31 on the lever. On the ends of the rods 30 are heads or nuts 32 so that the pull can be exerted by either arm of the rocker 28 through the rod 30 connected therewith to the whistle lever. When the level of the Water is in normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, the rocker 28 is horizontal and its ends are spaced from the stops 32 on the lower ends of the rods 30, so that the rocker will have a limited movement before it pulls one rod 30 or the other downwardly to sound the alarm. In other words, there is a lost motion connection between the rocker 28 and each rod 30, for the purpose hereinafter to be described.

When the water level in the boiler is normal the parts will be in the position shown in Fig. 1. In case the water falls to a minimum point, the float will descend and cause the arm 11 to pull downwardly on the rod 16, which, in turn, swings the left arm of the rocker downwardly and the right arm upwardly. As the rod 30 passes freely through the arms of the rocker the upward movement of the right-hand arm will have no effecton the whistle, but the left-hand arm will engage the head '32 of the associated rod 30 and pull such rod downwardly so as to tilt the whistle lever 7 in a direction to open the valve 6, and thus allow steam to actuate the whistle for sounding and warning. When the level of the water rises to a predetermined point, the whistle will be actuated by the lever 7 being pulled down wardly by the right-hand rocker arm since the movements of the parts will be opposite to that just described.

It may be desirable to provide an auxiliary signal or warning device which can be located at a more or less remote point from the boiler. In the present instance, such a warning device is shown as an electric bell C which has one binding post connected by a wire 33 with one side of a battery 34, and the opposite side of this battery is connected by a wire 35 with a swinging arm or lever 36 fastened to the rock shaft 23. This arm is adapted to engage high and low contacts 37 and 38, secured to the casing 21, the contacts being suitably spaced apart and respectively connected by wires 39 and 40 with the other binding post of a bell C, said wires being provided with switches 41 and 42 close to the bell. IVhen the water level is at the maximum high point, the circuit will be completed by the arm 36 engaging the upper contact 37, and as a result, the bell will be energized to warn the engineer in the ofiice. He then opens one switch or the other to ascertain the level of the Water in the boiler,

and should the bell continue to ring when the switch 42 is open, he will know that the level of the water is high and he would also know this fact if the bell should cease ringing when the switch 41 is opened to test the circuit. Obviously, the bell will be energized when the arm 36 closes the circuit by engaging the lower contact 38 upon the water reaching a low level.

By means of the lost motion connections between the rocker 28 and whistle-actuating rods 30, the rocker together with the contact 36 has a movement independently of the rods 30 upwardly and downwardly with respect to the normal horizontal position, so that by the time one rod is pulled, the contact arm 36 will engage the appropriate contact 37 or 38 for closing the alarm circuit at about the time the whistle is sounded, and furthermore, the lost motion connections permit the float to have a wide range of movement between maximum high and minimum low level before the alarms are sounded.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 4, the whistle is actuated by a solenoid S, the warning device being of the same construction as that shown in Fig. 1, with the exception that the rocker 28 and rods 30 are dispensed with, since the solenoid is used in their stead. This solenoid is supported on the casing 21 by a bracket 43, and the core 44 is connected with the whistle lever 7. The coil of the solenoid. is connected by wires 45 and 46 with the bell signal circuit so that whenever the bell is sounded by the closing of the circuit through the movable contact 36, the solenoid will be simultaneously energized to actuate the whistle.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, and while I have described the principle of operation of the in vention, together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claims.

that I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a receptacle containing a liquid and a gaseous fluid under pressure, a pipe extending into the receptacle to communicate with the gaseous fluid space thereof and forming a support, a floatcarrying arm arranged within the receptacle, means within the receptacle for mounting the arm wholly on the support, a whistle ac tuated by gaseous fluid escaping through the pipe or support, and operating means between the said arm and whistle.

2. The combination with a receptacle containing a liquid and a gaseous fluid under pressure, a pipe extending into the receptacle to communicate with the gaseous fluid space thereof and forming a support, a floatcarrying arm arranged within the receptacle, means within the receptacle for mounting the arm Wholly on the support, a whistle actuated by gaseous fluid escaping through the pipe or support, and operating means between the said arm and whistle, part of the said means being located within the pipe and part located exterior thereto.

3. The combination with a receptacle containing a liquid and a gaseous fluid under pressure, a pipe extending into the receptacle and communicating with the gaseous fluid space therein, said pipe forming a support, a bracket arranged within the receptacle and fastened to the inner end of the support, and a swinging arm adjustably mounted on the bracket, a float carried by the arm, a rod adj ustably connected with the arm and extending into and longitudinally of the support, a whistle sounded by gaseous fluid escaping through the support, and connecting means between the said rod and whistle for operating the latter.

4. The combination of a receptacle containing a liquid and a gaseous fluid under pressure, a tubular support'extending into the receptacle and having its inner end communicating with the gaseous fluid space therein, a bracket fastened to the inner end of the support, a member mounted on the bracket and adjustable toward and from the axis .of the support, an arm hingedly connected with the member for swinging movement, a float carried by the arm, a rod extending longitudinally of the support and having one end extending out of the inner end of the support and adjustably connected with the arm, and a whistle sounded by gaseous fluid escaping through the support, and connecting means between the said rod and whistle for operating the latter.

5. A device of the class described comprising a pipe through which fluid is adapted to pass, a fluidactuated signal connected with the pipe, a float-actuated element, a rocker connected with the element to move synchronously therewith, and a pair of connections between the rocker and signal for operating the signal by movement of the float to a predetermined high or low level.

6. A device of the class described comprising a pipe through which fluid is adapted to pass, a fluid-actuated signal connected with the pipe, a float-actuated element, a rocker connected with the element to move synchronously therewith, a pair of rods connected with the signal and each having a lost motion connection with the rocker whereby the latter moves independently of the rods during a portion of the movement of the float and moves with the rods when the float approaches the limit of its movement in either direction.

, 7. The combination of a fluid-operated whistle including a valve and an operating lever, a rocker, means for actuating the rocker, and a pair of rods each connected at one end with the lever of the whistle and attached respectively to the rocker at opposite sides of its center by lost motion connections to permit the rocker to have a limited movement independently of the rods.

8. A device of the class described comprising a tubular support through which steam is adapted to pass, a float-carrying arm mounted on the support, a rod connected with the arm and extending into the sup port, a rock shaft mounted on the support, an arm connecting the rock shaft with the said rod, a steam whistle, said whistle including a valve and a lever for actuating the same, and separate connections between the rock shaft and lever operative one at a time for moving the lever and sounding the whistle by the rocking of the shaft in either direction.

9. A device of the class described comprising a tubular support through which steam is adapted to pass, a float-carrying arm mounted on the support, a rod connected with the arm and extending into the support, a rock shaft mounted on the support, an arm connecting the rock shaft with the said rod, a steam whistle including a valve and a lever for actuating the same, a rocker on the shaft, and rods connected with the lever and operatively connected with the rocker at opposite sides of its center whereby the rocker operates through one rod or the other to actuate the whistle lever.

10. The combination of a receptacle containing fluid under pressure and a liquid, with a signal apparatus comprising a pipe extending into the receptacle and having an opening to receive fluid therefrom, a float in the receptacle, means within the receptacle for movably mounting the float on the pipe, a rod connected with the float and extending into the pipe, a fluid actuated whistle on the pipe and including a valve, and operating means connected with the rod and arranged to actuate the valve.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS BEEBEE.

Witnesses FRANZ KLEINFELD, ALBERT C. WELZEIHN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

